The Family Church | Pastor Paul McGee

Well, if you're cold this morning, find somebody that's

not set closer to. All right, that might help you

out just a little bit. Amen.

Here today. Amen.

We're going to be turning to the book of Genesis Chapter 7.

Genesis 7 · chapter mention

Genesis Chapter 7. Yeah.

Genesis 7 · chapter mention

There's been things going on this week on social media about

things that I say and things like that, and that's all right.

I've been praying about it all and so on and so forth.

So, but Genesis chapter #7 you folks, here's the thing.

I started my Bible reading over. And so I've been through Genesis

and just, it's just what it is, you know, so on and so forth.

Matter of fact, I was here yesterday and I was doing some

things and I came over and I'd forgot my reading glasses.

And I can't almost operate like even write my name on the check

without, you know, being able to see it clearly anymore without

having reading glasses. And so, you know, the bad

traffic here in Mount Carmel, I didn't want to travel all the

way across town to go get them. And so I just ran up here to

like the Dollar Tree and I'm going to get me another pair.

You know, they cost like a dollar, $25.50 up there at the

Dollar Tree. So I go up there and I'm looking

at all their reading glasses and they have, I don't know why they

do this. I don't know.

But they have different like fashions or types for the

different magnifications that there are, like you can't find

the same type and all the different magnifications.

And so I try to pair on and I felt like, but I needed my

wife's, you know, endorsement that maybe it looked a little

feminine, you know, kind of almost had the little cat eye

thing there on the side. So I I had them on.

I took a picture and sent it to my wife.

I said, do you think these are no, no, no, you don't need that.

I said, OK, so I'm looking down through there again, you know

the because there I needed, I only need a 1.25 magnification.

But I only had so many. I mean they had some like

cheetah print ones. I knew those was a no go, hard,

fast no go. And so then they had these like

kind of wire ones. I put them on center picture.

She says no. She says those are the type that

serial killers where and so I threw those.

I'm grasping to say the least. I could have went home and got

my reading glasses, been back at the church a whole lot sooner

than standing there trying to pick out some.

So I finally found some that folded all the way up till like

1 lens on top of the other and at that point I thought it

really don't matter. So I'm not even going to show

you all what they are because it probably has some association

with something. So nonetheless, these are my

ones I usually wear. OK, Genesis Chapter 7.

Genesis 7 · chapter mention

Sorry to keep you standing here today.

That's just a little glimpse into the life of all right, just

one verse. And so you won't be standing

long. The Bible says, and the Lord

said unto Noah, come thou and all thy house into the ark, for

thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation?

There's one phrase out of this particular verse that the

contemporary English version states like this.

It says, where it says, come down all thy house.

It says, take your whole family with you into the boat.

Take your whole family with you into the boat.

And for a little while this morning, I just want to talk to

you about the family church. All right, the family church.

I'm not necessarily meaning everybody that goes to church is

related, but the family church. All right, let's talk to the

Lord right now. Father, I need you today, God

that you're able to help our hearts and our minds today.

God, give us the Lord Jesus. I pray, Lord, some direction

through your word. It's a living word, God.

It's applicable, Lord, for everyday lives.

I pray God that we could, Lord, derive something today, God,

that would help us, Lord, in our walk and our journey.

Encourage someone strengthen someone, Lord, it's profitable

or instruction and reproof and rebuke all those things at

different times in our lives and we accepted as so in the name of

Jesus Christ that I pray a man you may be seated this morning

in Jesus name. When we look through Scripture

from Genesis to Revelations. There really isn't no direct

verse that explicitly equates the church with a boat or with a

ship. But as we read the biblical

record, there are several biblical examples and they're

even examples in our our our real world of art and literature

and hymnals and lyrics of songs that uses boats or ships as

metaphors for the church. As a matter of fact, when we

read in the New Testament, the Gospels Jesus called at least we

know at least four of the disciples were were fishermen to

be made fishers of men. And we see that Jesus OFT taught

from boats or he had Peter one time push a little further out

from the shore that he could stand in the boat and he could

instruct his followers. He instructed his disciples at

one time who were fishermen to pull their Nets into a boat.

And even some of the miracles that we see in the Gospels

center around fishing or boats or things of that nature.

Peter walking out on the water, he was big come out of a boat,

the calming of the sea when Jesus was walking there and they

bid him into their boat. All all includes boats.

As a matter of fact, in history, the the Roman catacombs over in

Italy, there's a lot of depictions and paintings in

those catacombs and many of those are depicting boats as the

church. Many even see that the mass of

those boats in those days were in that cross like fashion, you

know, reminding us of Calvary Saint Augustine, a person that

you probably have heard of at least back in the 4th and 5th

centuries. There was a particular sermon,

it was called sermon #75. They numbered them.

Then described the church as a ship carrying believers safely

to God's eternal Arbor. Anybody that may be familiar

with CS Lewis and his writing. Another famed person of the

past, The Chronicles of Narnia. One of those are called in the

Voyage of the Dawn Treader. He describes a ships journey as

a Christians journey in life and experience.

Even some of the old hymnals I know that they don't get a song

as OFT as they used to, but some of the old hymnals portrayed the

church as a ship. One traditional hymn entitled

Jesus savior pilot me. It's lyrics are this and it was

Jesus savior pilot me over life's impetuous sea.

Another one was come all you people come aboard the the, the,

the, the, the lyrics were come aboard the gospel ship.

It's selling on. And there's many others that

mentioned anchors and sailing and lifeboats and the sea of

life. The old spiritual.

We can't forget the old ship of Zion.

There was another writer and and author and theologian Tertullian

in the second and third centuries explicitly used

imagery of Noah's ark to describe the church as a vessel

of salvation. And so whenever we look at

Noah's ark, and this is a story that's familiar to some if

you've been reared in church and heard the Sunday school classes

and the teaching of it, Noah's ark was a boat.

It was it was a ship of source and it it had immense size.

Anybody that's been over in Kentucky to go to the Arc

experience to see that there upon the landscape, understand

the immensity of the size of it. If a cubit, if a cubit was about

18 inches, then it was 450 feet long that that's big.

That's about 1 1/2 football fields long, 450 feet long, 75

feet broad, 45 feet high, consisted of three stories.

It had one door and one window ish type of window situation.

But the Arc's purpose wasn't for fishing.

The Arc's purpose wasn't for imports and exports.

It was not used for recreational activity.

There was no rudder or wheel on the ark.

Scholar Warren Wisby said the vessel was designed for

flotation and not for navigation, meaning that it

wasn't up to Noah, it wasn't up to his family members to direct

or drive the ark. They trusted what they climbed

into and God steered the ark. God directed the ark.

It was God's design and it was God's direction concerning the

ark. God had Noah build the ark, the

Bible tells us, according to his will, according to his design

for the purpose to save all living things that would depend

upon it, namely also them Noah and his family.

But likewise today as a history and literature and even Bible

examples. This close connection between

boats and ships and the church. The church also is God's design

and the the church also operates under God's direction.

Jesus told Peter, he said Peter, upon this rock I will build my

church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

As a matter of fact, we know from Scripture that any minister

trying to build a church Amen, must follow the original plan of

God. The psalmist said except the

Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it, Amen.

The the labor he has laid out for us, it is in vain unless the

Lord is in partnership and it's according to his design.

And after his way, Jesus addressed his followers, the

church, if you will, and he informed them that the Spirit of

truth, Speaking of the Holy Ghost, that the Spirit of truth

would come and that he would guide them into all truth, Amen.

That the Spirit would do the guiding, the Spirit would do the

directing. And so there were explicit

instructions and there were explicit corrections, if you

will, that the Spirit would give to the church to direct and

guide the church. As a matter of fact, when we

read in the Book of Revelation, chapters 2 and three, all the

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

seven letters that were written to the seven churches of Asia,

Amen. It is the Spirit in such that's

given instruction. It's the Spirit that's given

correction, that serves nothing more but clear evidence once

again, that God, God directs his church.

God directs it. God has designed it.

And being a part of the church and attending services for that

matter. If we talk about church on 22

levels today, the church, yes, it's a place that we come to an

edifice in a structure, Amen, where we come to worship.

But the church also is without walls.

The church is the body of Christ, The church is the bride

of Christ. And so on 2 levels, I guess this

morning when we come to the church, the actual building, and

we attend in services, we have this hope.

The Bible tells us in Hebrews 10 that when we come together that

we are to provoke one another to love and to good works.

It's after he says that then he says fill not the assembling of

yourself together as the manner of some is Even so much the more

as you see the day approaching because there is guidance.

There's a provoking even from the collective body for one

another. I challenge you, you challenge

me you we call each other up to a higher place, if you will,

according as the body of God and so God's spirit is in his people

and it's guiding us collectively as a body.

And so your journey inspires me what God is doing for your life.

That inspires me because I think if God can do that for you, then

God can do that for me, right? And so there's an inspiration in

that. There's a little bit of hope,

Amen. That's instilled within the

minds and hearts of individuals. It motivates us as a people.

But when we looked at Scripture, this arc, this arc that's

mentioned in chapter 6 and 7-8 and nine of Genesis and

everything that's going on in the world, God said in Genesis

6/13, he said, the end of all flesh is come before me.

He says, behold, he says a little later there he says,

behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

The Bible says the heart of man was wicked and continually

wicked in this day. It just was getting worse and

worse and God was going to just kind of scratch things off and

start anew, if you will, with Noah and his family.

But notice what he said. He said all flesh has come and

I'm going to destroy the the earth with them.

Look at verse 17 now and behold, I, this is God, even I, I do

bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh,

wherein is the breath of life. So he says, everything that

breathes, I'm going to destroy from under heaven, and

everything that is in the earth shall die.

This is God speaking. This is his intention.

This is what he's going to do. But when we come to verse #18

and everything that God has laid out, there's this great word of

contrast, He says, but we could destroy everything that has has

breath in it, everything that breathes, because there's

wickedness and there's evil over the earth.

But with thee speaking to Noah, with thee will I establish my

covenant. And thou shalt come into the

ark, and thy sons and thy wife and thy sons wives with thee.

In other words, he says, this is what's going to happen.

There is pending destruction. There is pending punishment, if

you will, for the evil that's in the land.

I'm going to destroy and annihilate everything, he said.

But Noah, I want to make a covenant with you.

And part and parcel, a part of that covenant is you getting on

the ark. Not just you, Noah, but your

wife, your son's wives, your son's all getting on the ark.

God says I'm going to establish a covenant with you.

And part of that is my instruction for you getting on

the ark. He says destruction is coming,

folks. It is a mirror of where we are

standing today. There is already been prophesied

in Scripture. There is a end of the age and I

believe we're living in the age of the end.

And with that being said, there is destruction that is going to

come to this earth again. God promised I will not do it by

water. I will not take the whole world

by water again. Nope, I'm not going to do it.

It won't be by water this time. Scripture seems to indicate to

us that it will be by fire. Amen.

But there is going to be destruction.

Every living thing, everything else that exists, there's going

to be something taking place. But he has made a call.

There is still a conjunction of a but in the sentence, so to

speak, he says. But I want to make a covenant

with some people. And I want them and their

families and their loved ones and people that they have

acquaintances with and friends and neighbors and whoever they

are, I want them to get on the ark, so to speak.

I want them to become a part of the church.

I want them to become a part of the pride of Christ.

This is a family church. This is a relative church.

This is a an acquaintance church.

This is a your friend and neighbor and loved one church.

This is a cashier, a man at Walmart church.

This is a psalmist understood. He understood he wrote in Psalms

20 and verse two. He he understood the help of the

strength that the church provided.

He specifically called for some help from the sanctuary or some

strength from Zion. And although that early humanity

would face a catastrophic flood. Amen.

The experience listen to me. The experience inside the ark

was vastly different from the experience outside the ark.

What they experienced inside was different than what they

experienced outside and wherever they place themselves.

It didn't matter in or out if you were a body that was

floating, the water that was rising, or a body that was

inside the ark. You are going to experience, if

you will, the ups and the downs of the billows of the ever

increasing waves. But those inside the ark was

going to survive the UPS and the downs, whereas those outside the

ark would not survive the UPS and the downs do.

Hey man, due to the destruction on the outside of the ark, all

of the trees, Amen, that were permitted to them for food prior

to the flood, from our estimation of scripture, were

destroyed, or at least underwater, inaccessible if you

will. That was outside the ark.

But inside the ark there was provision.

Inside the ark there was food. There was life inside the ark.

There was starvation outside the ark.

There was hope inside the ark. There was hopelessness outside

the ark. There was death outside the ark.

God's words then to Noah are more sensible today than they

ever was. Hallelujah, Noah, I'm telling

you, you need to take your whole family and get on the boat.

Take your whole family and get all of them.

Parents are switched today. This I'm noticed this morning.

There's nothing wrong with it. Christmas time, birthdays and

things like that. Parents are switched today of

how they give gifts to their children.

Special occasions that their kids may have now may not

involved a tangible gift, but a lot of Times Now, today they

want to give them the gift of an experience.

Yeah, they arranged for their families, and I've seen it even

just this past Christmas, arranged for their families to

go on a cruise to the Bahamas. Yeah, or perhaps they'll give

their teenage daughter a trip to New York City or maybe out of

country to Paris. You know, they have a little

more means. They're gifting their family an

experience. I can hear Noah though gathering

the family together. Guys, I want us to experience

something together. We got some time here to do this

and and to build this according to God's design.

And honey, I really thought about getting you a new goat

skin garment. You know, I was really

considering getting you that. And, and, and, and she and I, I

really was going to whittle the wood and make you a new wooden

bow with some straighter arrows than what you have right now is

It's really going to do that for you.

But instead, why don't we build a boat together?

And how about whenever it's finished and at the appropriate

time, let's all go on a cruise. Let let let's just all get on

the boat. Because I realize I know guys,

there's no water right now, but there will be.

But I want to give you an experience this year.

Can I tell you, ladies and gentlemen, I wish we could

somehow adopt that modern day mindset.

Amen. Because there is no better

experience to introduce your family, or anybody else to for

that matter, than the experience of being a part of the church

being up. It's so precious that Jesus shed

his blood to purchase it. And if Jesus shed his blood for

it, I guarantee you that's something you'll want to be a

part of. If that's the only thing he ever

spent anything on, I guarantee you it's worth being part of.

Amen. I know that he purchased it, and

I know in Scripture I see he didn't purchase Everland.

He never purchased any possessions.

He never purchased according to the record.

Anything else concerning tangible goods, But he did

purchase the church. That's what I want to be a part

of. That's what I want to invest in.

That's that's where you need to take your whole family.

Gospel of Luke 17 and verse 26 says, and as it was in the days

of Noah, which is Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the

Son of Man. They did eat, they drank, they

married wives, they were given in marriage until the day that

no entered into the ark, the flood came and destroyed them

all. The plea in the New Testament is

for us to beware that we would not become lovers of pleasure

more than lovers of God, or that we would become lovers of

ourselves more than lovers of God.

Because if you will allow it, the, the, the theme and the

palpitation of the world will cause you to want to involve

your families to be intoxicated just with the simple pleasures

of this life that we're living here below that, may I remind

you, is 100% temporal. And I'm not suggesting this

morning someone say you're going to be a stick in the mud today,

Pastor. No, no, no, I'm not.

I'm not suggesting this morning that we bypass all of the

earthly enjoyment that we have on this planet.

But what I am urging us is this not to become so enamored with

this world that we ignore the voice of God that's calling that

says get on the boat, get your family on the boat, get yes,

yes, yes, yes, Amen. Someone say Amen.

The first world was again destroyed by water, but God

assured again he wouldn't do that again.

It would be fire the next time. He said in second Peter 3 and

10, there's a phrase there he said the elements shall melt

with fervent heat and the earth also and the works that are

there in shall be burned up. Amen.

Noah had an ark for the flood and we have the church for the

fire. Amen.

In Acts 27, this this boat embolism if you will, or

symbolism even Paul was situated.

He was a prisoner. He had appealed to go to Caesar

to go to Rome. He was situated on a boat or a

ship if you will. There were 275 other.

The Bible calls them souls, not just individuals.

There were 276. Paul was one of them, but 275

other souls that was on this boat that was amid a very

tumultuous sea that was rising and falling and the conditions

were not really good for selling, but there they were.

And these people that Paul was with, I think it's important to

know we're not his family. The Bible says some of them were

other prisoners, right? There's other prisoners, there

are other people, Amen, that are here and yet the godly

instruction for Paul, Amen. And for all those who are this,

he said except these abide in the ship, he cannot be saved.

Now they knew he heard the voice of the Lord.

The Angel had said that that ship is going to face shipwreck.

It's going to come into contact with something.

It's going to be broke asunder. Amen.

But the words to Paul was abide in the ship meaning for them.

And this, it was this, that it was better for them to be in a

vessel that was prone, that was going to get damaged than it was

to escape to an uncertain sea. I wish I could tell you that the

church never has its problems. I wish I could tell you that the

church is the most perfect committee or organization of

people that you're ever going to find.

But I'm here to tell you that as long as the church is made-up of

people, we're going to have issues.

As long as the church is made-up people, we're still going to

have to come back. Gossip, We're still going to

have to come back, if you will, offenses and people getting

hurt, so and so forth. But you know that I'll still

tell you this. I'd still rather be a part of

something that has some of its imperfections and flaws and it's

damages sometimes to give myself to the uncertainty of the water,

to give myself to the uncertainty of what's on the

out. Why?

Because this is what God has designed and this is what God

has directed. And so this is what God has

purchased with his. Yes, I designed Noah's vote, and

regardless of what transpired, Noah understood this.

I'm connected with and surrendering my family then to

something divine, constructed, yes, by the hands of men

following the divine plan. No, no better definition of the

church. We got a divine plan, but it's

still, it's played out through, if you will, the efforts of men

and women and people, human involvement you have.

It introduces error, it introduces imperfection, and yet

the plan of the design is still gods.

Amen. This type of construction, yes,

it is flawed. It's flawed by my involvement,

but it's serving a perfect purpose.

Hear me. It's flawed by my involvement,

but it's serving a perfect purpose.

And so I urge you, Sir or ma'am, you need to bring your whole

family there. I urge you to bring your friends

to the church, bring your acquaintances, bring strangers,

bring strangers to the church as Paul was had fellow prisoners,

if we could say it like that, bring the fellow prisoners.

Amen to the church because it's going to be more useful to them

than being in waters of uncertainty.

The Bible says that whenever it had struck asunder and it was

damaged to where there were just pieces of the that were upon the

water. The scripture says some swam to

the shore of the island of Malita, but there are others

that grab the just to broken pieces of that ship and made it

to the shore of safety where they needed to be.

Can I tell you today that the mere pieces and parts of the

church, all of them are vital and all of them are significant

And sometimes you don't grasp everything there is to grasp or

understand everything there is to understand.

But I'm under the conviction today that if you can even get

your hand on a porch, Amen of what the church is doing or what

God has done through the divine construction of the church,

it'll help you survive until you reach a shore till you can get

your footing again it. There's there's been certain

aspects of the church, even this church, there's times that we go

through and we have connect groups on Wednesday rather than

Wednesday night. Bible study and connect groups

sometimes have been what has kept some afloat, so to speak.

There have been other annual chili suppers that we have had

for years now that that one little thing there has been the

very thing that's helped someone to keep their nose above water

level. It's just a piece.

It's just a portion, but it's a part of the conglomerate called

the church, a prayer revival like we are having coming up in

February. Sometimes it's been the very

thing, Amen. That's called someone just to go

a little further, dig their roots a little deeper.

A cleaning night, Brother Reese, when you all get together and

you talk and you have fun and and you have times of prayer,

Amen. There could be the very thing

that keeps somebody tethered on the ship, on the boat in the

church. It might not be the whole thing,

but just even a piece. If they can just grab a hold of

it, if they can, my God, I'm the Holy Ghost right now.

If they someone say, man, was it not the woman with the issue of

blood? As she's going through the

crowd, she's saying within herself, the gospel said if I

can just touch the hymn, If I can just touch the hymn, It was

just a portion. It was just a part.

It was just something that was touching him.

If I can just touch the hymn, I shall be made whole.

I'm telling you, there's nothing like the church.

There's nothing like what is touching him.

It's not coincidental that that happened for her.

If anything, I think it reflects then what David spoke of in the

Psalms, that sanctuary be in a place, a promising help and

strength. And so understanding the

importance and the vitality of this ark or this church,

Understand this, that you're not the only one then that

understands that. What do you mean?

The enemy of your soul understands that entity that's

been designed by God and directed by God.

Hezekiah, King Hezekiah, the Old Testament, he rose to his throne

and he is in a mode of inviting Judah and the nation of Israel,

who at that moment, Sister Cox, was an estranged people.

They kind of separated from God, kind of separated from the

things of God. And so Hezekiah came with a

voice of calling those people back into relationship with God.

And the Scripture tells us not even just that, but back into

the sanctuary, back being tethered, if you will, to the

church. They had neglected him.

Israel had. They neglected his house for

some long time. And as a result, the unity of

the nation had suffered. The unity of the nation had

suffered. And so He's calling them back to

all of the benefits that they had missed of having been a part

of the temple and the worship and the festivals and the

fellowship and thus and so. And he encouraged them.

Second Chronicles 30 and verse #8 that regardless of their past

actions, or maybe it was in actions, He said some

interesting things in this verse.

He says yield yourselves into the Lord and enter into a

sanctuary. That's important, I believe,

huh, because it wasn't just yield yourself, but also come to

the sanctuary and I love I I'm I'm thankful for live stream and

I'm thankful for all those things.

But just like anything they have their vices to and the vice in a

post COVID age is what we were able to attend and be at church

during COVID with just being at home.

So why can't I just carry that same pattern?

Although we are allowed now to be back in the church because

it's not just about yielding into the Lord, it's also about

entering His sanctuary. I told you earlier, and I say

this often, I know today we have cell phones, we have all these

other ways that we can connect. But when Scripture was written,

that was not the case. So when he told them in, in

Hebrews 10/24 that when they come together, they're provoking

one another to good works in those things, they didn't do

that by a phone call. They, they, they didn't do, they

didn't do that by doing it through a, a direct message,

through some type of social media aspect.

No, it required coming together. For that matter, there were

certain laws of Israel that could not be fulfilled unless

you were at the temple in Jerusalem.

Certain thing you could not do, you could not obey some of those

things unless you were right there at the temple.

Amen. And so in all that what I'm

saying is this that that that we've had some of these things

and sometimes the enemy of our soul wants to keep you not just

out of the body of Christ, but even out of the the structure of

the edifice of the gathering of the people.

He wants us to God wants us to yield ourselves and enter into

the sanctuary. And he even says further in that

verse there and serve the Lord your God by doing so.

If you continue reading the chapter by doing so, God said,

this is amazing to me. He says your children will

experience compassion. Look at that.

You know what he's saying. This isn't just about what you

experience, but this will impact your family.

Yeah, he says. When you yield and you enter the

sanctuary, it'll impact your family.

Your children will experience compassion because God is a

gracious God and God is a merciful God.

Folks, if you want to give your family, your neighbor, your

community, that type of gift, it's valuable to be a part of

the church. It's that huh?

The enemy of our cell will try to prevent it from happening.

Amen. Look, if you will, and I'm I'm

getting there not I'll let you go here real soon, but in first

SIM, OK, my definition of soon and your definition soon may be

different, right? Jesus said, behold, I come

quickly and people fuss over that.

So first Samuel 1 and verse 6 I'll say give me 10 minutes then

and her Speaking of Hannah adversary also provoked her sore

for to make her feet frant rather because the Lord had shut

up her womb. Verse 7 and as he Elkanah, her

husband did so year by year when she went up to the House of the

Lord, so she Penena, which was his other wife provoked her,

Speaking of Hannah. Therefore she wept and did not

eat Hannah. Hannah is barren.

Hannah's unable to have children, She's unfruitful, but

year by year, as the time was dedicated, they would go to the

House of the Lord. Elkanah her husband would have

sacrifice and meat and he would give all times even extra

portions to Hannah because of the dilemma of her barrenness.

But the Bible says here's what I want you to wrap your mind

around that every time watch this now every time they would

make their trip to God's house, her adversary, which she was

pictured as Penina in this, her adversary would provoke her.

So it specifically states here, Sister Grace, it's not talking

about all the other days, but it's specifically saying the

days she would make her trip to God's house, that's when her

adversary would provoke her. Hey, man, Hannah's grappling

with, she's struggling with bareness.

No doubt she's feeling a little embarrassed about it, a little

concerned about it as well. And we know in Scripture that

that's not the way that she wanted to live her life.

That wasn't it. But each year her husband each

year her husband made sure the family what's going to the House

of the Lord and he's taking them.

But every year as Hannah's making the trip.

Her adversary is provoking her reason with me.

How appealing is it to want to go to God's house each year when

you know each year you're going to be provoked her.

I'm just, I'm just content to believe that her adversary, I

want to provoke her enough that maybe she won't go next year.

I make it stressful enough for her and and bother her enough

and provoke her enough. Maybe she'll just check out and

next time she'll stay home. She'll just folks just doing

this just for a little bit and been around church all of my

life. Amen to understand that there

are just sometimes that the only time that your adversary wants

to provoke as whenever it's time to get on the ark, it'll happen.

You'll be headache free all week until it's time to go to church.

Your tummy won't hurt at all until it's time to go to church.

The faucet, the faucet, you know, won't start leaking until

it's time to go to church. It, it, it happens.

It hands down, hands down. And and I think it's in his book

Atomic Habits. He said, if you do things once,

that's one thing. But if you do it a second time,

that starts to have it. I'm not going to go because XYZ.

And it's like, Oh, I found the vice for the provoking.

I'll use the same element that I did last time because it worked

last time. And so I'll use it again this

time. Why, though, is the adversary

provoking you on that particular day or that particular time?

Because evidently he has some knowledge that David had.

There's help that comes from the sanctuary.

There's strength that comes from Zion.

That's that's associating yourself and connecting

yourself. Something that God designed and

something that God is direct. I don't want them to get some in

something that God is correct and I don't want them to be a

part of something that God has designed.

Provoke, provoke, provoke, provoke was her adversary would

trouble her on her way. My understanding is this that if

being part or in the church or on the boat, if it weren't so

important, then I believe our adversary wouldn't be so

persistent about agitating us when we attempted to join or be

a part of it. We strive to a certain degree to

admonish people that first come to know the Lord.

Just kind of like, you know, put on your armor when you leave the

doors because after you've made this choice in this decision,

the crosshairs get laid on your life.

It doesn't want you say he doesn't want you baptized in

Jesus name. He doesn't want your sins to be

remitted. He don't want you to make heaven

your home someday. He don't want you to be a

worshipper. He for sure doesn't want it

because he was the anointed cherub of back cover if he don't

want you doing what he used to do.

But it paid off and his determination paid off.

She went regardless. She made the trip regardless.

And it was there where she would make her prayers and it was

there that she would be broken in her spirit.

And her bareness was broken. On one of the trips that she

made to the House of God, new life was promised unto her.

Hey man, it was was it was a promise to her in her mid

eastern home. I'm not saying it can't happen

there. I'm just saying for this story,

it happened when she went to the house.

You'll stay with me today. That's what you're saying then,

Brother McGee, I'm saying this. Bring yourself, bring your

family, bring anybody you can get your hands on into the ark,

the church, the boat. Not perfect, involves us.

So it's not perfect. But if you can be a part of any

other committee or club in this world, then by all means take a

chance to be a part of the church.

But the difference is, is this. It is operating under a divine

plan. It is a station of hope and of

salvation for those who enter it.

And for Noah, he says, this is the place that I'm going to make

a covenant with you, and I'm going to fulfill it, and I'm

going to mend your lives. And this is a place where

families can be strengthened and futures can be secured at the

boat, the ark, the church. The thing of the matter is this,

that sometimes you can't allow the distractions of the world

deter you from the essential of this haven.

And sometimes, like Hannah, you got to just move past some

irritants and you got to move past some adversities that

attempt to keep you back. Or voices of the provoker, the

adversary that would somehow snuff out your zeal for being

there. Because again and again, through

Scripture and still yet today, the church is where burn

barrenness turns into fruitfulness, where brokenness

meets restoration, and where there's the promise of new life.

The church. So I'm going to get on that old

ship of Zion. I'm going to tether to the old

gospel ship and if she's damaged, I'm going to, I'm just

going to, even if I just grasp a piece of it, we're part of it.

This is a family church. So ma'am, this is a family

church. If we bow our heads today and

close our eyes, this is a this is a family church.

Take your whole family. There's people you know, there's

people that you interact with. There's people that you have

conversation with, you were up shoulders with.

They need the difference that the church can make in their

life that God, by virtue of his plan and of his direction can

make in their life. Because folks, again, there's a

vast difference about the consequence of the outcome of

being inside it or on it and outside it.

We're going to space the same storm, the same floods, the same

rains, but the end result is different.

Someone needs to call another on board, invite another into the

ark into the church. These altars are open today.

If you're a part of the church, if you've you've made your your,

your, your dedication, determination for the church,

That's well, but I'm asking you to pray, Lord, open my heart and

life God for other members of my family.

But God, people that I rub shoulders with, people that I

see, they know me regularly, God that may not have that hope that

I have, that may not be a part of that thing that is God

designed and God directed. God help me, Lord, to be the

voice in my generation that says, come on board, come on

board. I know you're still going to

face some of the same things you're facing right now, but

it's going to be different if you just get on the ark, if you

get in the church, if you get on the ship.

Somebody, somebody today needs to hear it.

Somebody today needs to be shown the direction to pass somebody

today. Somebody that you know, somebody

that you have conversation with, you laugh with, you joke with,

you know, about their family. You need to tell them about

getting their family on the boat.

It's a place. Help comes from the sanctuary.

Strength comes from Zion. Hallelujah, Adversary bar.

So he doesn't want you on it and he doesn't want anybody else on

it. We got to break the pattern

today. We got to break the pattern

today. We don't want whenever the Lord

shows, closes that one door on that ark, that there be others

outside of there floating the abyss of the sea that is wishing

that they had or listen, folks, this is a family church.

Get them on the boat. Whosoever will, whosoever will,

whatever, whatever their plight is in life so ever will

Hallelujah, Jesus. Oh, let's talk to him right now.

Let's petition heaven. Let's ask God to help us, to be

a voice in our generation, to ask God to help us.

Hallelujah, God. We want to be a part of it and

we want to help as many as we'll also be a part of.

It every season. Of Lord God is.

As for me, in my house, we're gonna be free, so I will stand

up. Yes.

Sir, and fight for my freedom. Some of you have moms and dads,

some of you. Have and.

Some of you have children. Quickly.

Uncles, aunts, cousins. Come on, some of you have

neighbors. Worship in my situation, I will

lift my hands, lift my voice, declare I am free As for me in

my house As for me in my house As for me in my house, we're

going to be free as. Coworkers free I coworkers.

They have for me in my eyes, let.

God resign God directed entity they need.

Up for me in my house, going to be free, yeah.

So I will stand up and fight for my.